What Goes Around
by she is brighter
Summary: AU/slight OOC: James has a power only two knew of. This is what happens when things don't go according to plan. This is what happens when you must seek help from the most unlikely of sources... and when you fall in love with the most unlikely person.
1. I

A/N: Its been a good minute since I've immersed myself in fan fiction, however this storyline has been stuck in my head with my newfound love of Bella and Jasper ships.

This story will be updated in three chapter segments…. I'm feeling generous of late. I was going to update it after I finished it, but I'm too excited.

Opinions/Thoughts/Ideas welcome, looking for a beta.

Edit: I have no excuse for waiting so long. I apologize wholeheartedly. I had some trouble in my foundations of nursing class and a horrid case of writers block. I decided to trash the story and start again – same concept, differently written.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have writing it.

Please, as always, read and review.

Disclaimer for the **entire** story: I do not, nor will I ever own. I am also not getting paid for this, because if it were possible, I'd be in the Caribbean and not freezing.

They say that in order to truly appreciate what someone means to you, you must first lose them.

I suppose that's why I'm understand exactly how much the Cu-, _they_ meant to me. I suppose that's why I allow the cold December air to seep into my room ever night when I leave my window open. Hoping, that maybe, just maybe, someone would miss me enough to come back to check on me.

Not that there'd be much to check on. I allotted myself a month to sulk, and then I attempted to snap out of my haze. Attempted is the operative word since I still have days where I don't feel like moving, speaking, or eating. Thankfully, those days are few and far between, now at least.

I heard the mailman's truck coming, and decided to greet him at the mailbox. "Hello, Mr. Brown," I said, smiling brightly as I took the mail from him.

"Hello yourself Ms. Bella. I'm glad you're feeling better." He said, his old, calloused hand cradling my cheek for a second. "You're quite popular today, I see. Express mail, and some flowers. You lucky girl." I frowned for a second, turning to walk back into the house when I saw this huge bouquet of my favorite flowers.

Instead of only being slightly confused, I was now totally confused. Holding the front door open with a foot, I maneuvered the arrangement inside while not dropping anything or tripping. I placed my bounty on the table and reached for the card attached to the flowers.

_My Dear Sweet Sister,_

_ Never doubt my love for you… forever._

_ Love: Alice_

Tears clouded my vision, and I read the last line. Oh, Alice. My heart clenched at the thought of her name. I couldn't believe she did this for me – the flowers alone would have cost a small fortune. Shaking my head, I reattached the note to the holder and reached for the pile of letters on the table.

All of the mail was for me? _What in the world?_ I asked myself. My eyebrows receded into my hairline as I read the first acceptance letter. Amarillo College, Austin College, Central Texas College, Coastal Bend College, Midwestern State University, Navarro College, North Central Texas College, Mountain View College, South Texas College, Texas A&M University, Texas College, University of Dallas, U. Houston, West Texas A&M, SamHou State U… "Alice, what did you do now?" I muttered to myself as I opened letter after letter.

Finally, at the bottom of the seemingly endless pile was a standard size envelope, addressed to me in the calligraphy known to belong to Alice.

"Well, here we go again…" I said to myself as I opened this last one.

_Dearest Sister,_

_If you are reading this letter, it means my forever has been cut short. Words cannot express my utter remorse in regards to my behavior last fall. I should never have left you, and I will repent that decision until the end of time. Seems I wasn't as forward thinking as I thought; even with my gift I still was unable to see this coming. For that I apologize again. Not to fear, I took care of everything. You'll find that every college you apply to in Texas will be only too happy to accept you into whatever major you choose. Please, don't argue and just go – for me? I'm not too selfish to say it's my last wish for you… because I have many more of those. My brother is stupid; we've known this for years. Please don't let his mistake ruin your life. The sun will rise, the grass will grow green, it might rain, but trust me Bella. Life will begin again. This is your second chance. Embrace it._

_I sent them to you… trust them – I do._

_Alice_

_Ps: Don't forget to live_

_._

My tears might not have been enough to drown me, but it sure felt like it. I curled up under a blanket, still crying, still clutching her letter like it was a lifeline. I don't know how long I just sat there, until I heard a knock at the door.

Grumbling to myself, I opened the door a crack to see whom it was, and immediately flung all my body weight against it to slam it.

"Bella, we bring news. It's of vital importance, please open the door. We aren't going to hurt you." A rumbling voice with a slight French accent softly said through the door.

"For some reason, I don't believe you. The last time I saw you, your coven leader was trying to eat me."

I heard a sharp inhale of breath. "Bella, please. Let us in. We swear nothing will happen." In the dark recesses of my mind, I remembered Alice's cryptic message from her letter. _Alice, Seriously? _I cursed in my head. Deciding I could trust Alice, I cautiously opened the door to see the golden eyes and familiar faces of Victoria and Laurent.

Wait, _golden_ eyes?

I think they noticed me staring… but then again, my jaw was kind of hung open and I was lightheaded.

Victoria slowly stepped closer to the doorway, gently embracing my shoulders in an embrace. "Bella, I'm so sorry about what happened. James is…unrelenting. Please let us in and we'll talk about it more?" Her last request was a question.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Come in then. You don't have to worry about noise. Charlie moved to La Push to live with Sue."

After we sat down, I curled up under my blanket once more, like it would save me if they snapped. I cleared my throat and said, "Please, do continue. What was it you were saying about James?"

It was now their turns to look uncomfortable. "You see, Bella, that's why were here. James has an ability to clone himself. The Cullens killed one of his copies in Phoenix…not the real one. Bella, he contacted us a week ago. He wants to continue the hunt."

This time, I really did pass out.


	2. II

I felt like a bus hit me, or at the very least, fell down three flights of stairs. Groggily, I opened my eyes to the concerned faces of Victoria and Laurent.

"Please, please, please tell me I imagined that conversation and I'm now getting up from a nap." I asked, in a begging kind of way.

Their eyes locked. I could tell they were having a silent conversation. "Just because I can't hear what your saying doesn't mean I don't know ya'll are talking about me." I glared at both of them, and to my delight, they looked chagrined.

"We are sorry Bella. We aren't used to conversing with humans, although the pixie one did warn us that you were more perceptive than most. We might have changed back to our original lifestyle, but we only are in contact with humans when we need something." Laurent said, in his slight French accent.

I nodded, that made sense. Before I could tell him that verbally, Victoria spoke up. "We were actually headed this way to speak to the Cullens about this development, but when we arrived at the house, it was all shut in except for a note tucked in the door. Would you like to read it?"

My lip trembling, I reached out a shaking hand to accept the note from her. Again, I was greeted by Alice's familiar scrawl.

_V&J,_

_It pains me to say this, but we have left this state… I don't know why you have returned here, but I know it has something to do with Bella. She is unprotected and I have this feeling that something is coming after her. I've been seeing you in my visions and I know you'll be willing to help her. Please, especially you V, hug her close… for me? I miss her more than life itself. I will never stop loving her, but for now, I need you to do that for me. Feel free to use this house. You'll find that its recently been taken off the market. _

_Alice_

_Ps: she knows you are to be trusted. Congrats going back to your old lifestyle._

For the second time today, tears cascaded down my face. I couldn't believe what she was saying, but yet I knew it was right here in front of me and Alice doesn't lie. I met the eyes of Victoria and Laurent, and when I did Victoria moved so fast she was a blur, and the next thing I knew she was by my side.

"Bella dear, my sweet girl, I know its strange, but sweetie, we never really wanted to hurt you. We needed to play along so we could escape James and find our family. Actually, we only diverted the Cullen's attention so we could make decisions Alice would be able to see. How do you think they found you so fast?" She cooed.

It felt so nice to be embraced by someone after so long, I found myself relaxing in her motherly like embrace. "I always wondered that. Thank you, for coming for me I mean. I know you didn't have to listen to Alice's letter, but I'm grateful you did. I'm sorry I'm putting ya'll in danger again. You can leave if you want. I don't want anyone getting hurt because of me."

This time, it was Laurent who spoke up. "Bella, we aren't going anywhere. You are in far more danger than either of us. We will protect you."

And for the first time in I don't know how many months, I smiled.


	3. III

Alice was right, life does begin again – not that her being correct surprises me, I just don't remember the last time I was this carefree. I had V and Laurent and they have done so much for me.

Ever since that first night, they've kept their promise to me. Any time I left the house, one of them was either with me, or flanking me in some manner. In the time that passed since that first night, I got to know my new family.

It turned out that Victoria and Laurent were mates, not James and Victoria. James was obsessed with Victoria, much like he is with me, and she and Laurent decided it was best to let him believe as he wished.

Every night, one of them sits with me while the other one runs patrols around my house to make sure James wasn't around. Tonight though, the work both of them were putting in to ensure my safety made itself known.

Their eyes were dark onyx, and they both had ghastly bags under their eyes. "Please run a quick patrol and go hunt, both of you. You can't starve yourselves because of me. If I can eat, you should be able to too. Look, I'll leave my window unlatched for you. If either of you catch his trail come back here right away. Hell, I don't care if you eat some squirrels from my tree outside, but please, go hunt." I looked at them both with pleading eyes, and much to my delight, they caved – albeit unwillingly.

After I successfully shooed them out, I decided to take an impromptu shower right fast to relax myself some. This is the first time I've been home by my self in a while.

I French braided my mahogany hair behind me so it would fall in tighter ringlets tomorrow and slid my feet into my slippers before I padded into my room.

When I shut my door behind me and turned around, an earth-shattering scream filled the room. "The actual fuck are ya'll doing here?" I exclaimed to the three annoyingly familiar vampires in my bedroom.

"We were hunting at Mt. Ranier, and crossed the scents of –" He didn't get to finish his sentence before my two chief protectors appeared in my bedroom crouched in front of me snarling at the intruders. "-Laurent and Victoria." Jasper finished.

I tossed in a growl of my own and opened my mouth to speak, but Victoria beat me to it. "Why the fuck would care, you left her to rot by herself." I had to admit, that was clutch. Thank you V.

To my surprise, Rosalie had to be restrained by Emmett and Jasper, she was snapping and snarling so badly. I thought for a millisecond she was going to charge. "Get away from my sister, you bint."

Well, now I was officially confused. Since when did _Rosalie_ of all people consider me her sister. Wow.

"You will not call my mate such a vile name, apologize to her, and to our daughter for leaving her." Laurent said, bitingly.

I smiled at his comment, but only for a second. There was an empath in the room. Wait a second. There was an empath in the room.

"Jasper. Calm them down please. They aren't gonn listen to reason until you do." I said softly. With a nod, I felt calmness seeping through the room.

I cleared my throat to get the five immortal's attention. "Well, Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, perhaps we should start explaining from the beginning…"


	4. IV

A/N: apologies for the delay, but here's some more to the story…. For future reference: unless otherwise specified the POV is Bella's.

After I got their attention, I herded them into the living room. I assumed the position of the mediator…and the interrogator if needed. As soon as I finished the thought, I grinned mentally.

I turned around to my visitors. "I'm going to need some help. V, could you and Rosalie move the couches into a U-shape? Jasper, my phone is charging on the side table in my room, please get it for me. Emmett, can you get a chair from the kitchen for me and set it between the couches please?"

See, this is why I love vampires. Not a minute passed from when I asked for the aforementioned tasks to be done, and I was staring at the finished products. Chuckling to myself, I assumed the single chair to act my part. "You may sit. But this is going to go my way. Are we clear?" I received murmurs of agreement as seats were taken.

"This is how this is going to work. One at a time we will discuss current events. There will not be talking over each other. There will not be pandemonium. There will be order. First, Victoria will take the floor, followed by Rose, Laurent, Emmett and finally Jasper. Victoria, proceed." I said, quickly finding the app I needed and opening it.

"Bella, you already know why Laurent and I found you. James contacted us both and wants to continue the hunt. We arrived at the house and found the note from Alice and came to find you. You've been gracious enough to allow us to stay in your house and look after you in case of an attack." V said, leaning into Laurent for support.

Rose hissed. "You sure you didn't just come back to kill her for him?" Emmett tightened his arm around her waist.

He intervened. "Rose baby, I'm sure if that were true we wouldn't have found her in the first place."

Jasper, ever the strategist, took his turn interjecting. "You sure about that Emmett? It would be all apart of a plan."

I sighed, massaging the bridge of my nose. This was not going to go as well as I hoped. "You'll get your turn to voice your opinions. Let her finish." Just as I thought, I was ignored. Victoria and Laurent were hissing to the Cullens and the Cullens were hissing back. Seeing that I had no choice. I activated the app on my droid.

I smirked as the shrill sound of an air horn brought their argument to a halt. Instead, they were attempting to cover their ears. "Bella please. That sound." Is all Laurent was able to get out.

I grinned. "Guess now you'll actually go about this the way I want, eh?" Oh yes, I do believe that's one for the human.

"I will not say this again. You will each get a turn to say your piece. I really don't care who doesn't like who or anything on that level of immaturity. You are all over 100 years – some, older – you will act like it. Now, Victoria, please finish."

She caught my eye and smiled. "The little one was kind enough to offer us her house, even though Alice had enough foresight to take care of that too. We've spent the last few weeks remodeling the old mansion, and we're getting ready to move in there. There hasn't been much of a rush, because we've been able to stay here."

I caught her eye and she nodded, wordlessly telling me she was done. I nodded to Rose, and she began. "Well, about a week ago I received an automated email from Alice saying that I needed to collect Em and myself, revive Jasper and get the hell to Forks. In case you were wondering, that was a direct quote. She said we were needed here and to hunt in Mt. Rainer. So we did, and here we are."

When no one else spoke up, I assumed this was all they were going to say. "Since we have the basics covered, lets open the discussion to the floor. Who wants to go first?"

When everyone started buzz talking again, I sighed, opening my favorite app and sounding it off. Again, I got their attention and thankfully, they stayed quiet. Praise God.

"Didn't we already discuss the immaturity? Please, do not make me do it again. Clearly, Alice knew things we didn't. Lets not bet against her – not now. The way I see it, we're working together. Now, I'm going to bed. V and Laurent, please finish your hunt. I think I'm well accounted for here.


End file.
